MALDEN MUSINGS: Kiss Forever Fundraiser at the Irish American

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Tuesday

Oct 2, 2018 at 12:48 PMOct 2, 2018 at 12:49 PM

“It is said in Malden Musings...”

• Spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon in enemy territory - aka Yankee Stadium - a few weeks back with Malden High School Class of 1975 heartthrob and football hero Jack Freker. The ‘Bronx Bombers’ were victorious over the Orioles that day but since the Yanks were firmly in the Sox rearview mirror and with the assistance of a few Yankee Stadium $14 adult beverages it did not seem to matter much. Jack, a transplanted Maldonian, has been working and living in N.Y.C. for a couple of years now and if I didn’t know better would have thought he worked for one of those double decker sight-seeing tour buses. His knowledge of all the best pubs with half price happy hours is nothing short of amazing. Insert smiley face. Although Frek’s a very successful ‘Captain of Industry’ these days he’s never forgotten Malden and his Malden roots. This Princeton grad will bleed ‘Blue & Gold’ forever. For that we salute you sir! Hope to see you at the Thanksgiving Day game this year Freck!

• “Do you like good music? That sweet soul music? Just as long as it’s swingin’?! Oh yeah oh yeah!” Well, it’s not really soul music but it IS good for the soul music! Those hard rocking dudes from ‘Kiss Forever’ with Malden guy - via Edgeworth - Rob Smith will appear at the Irish American Club on Saturday November 3rd. A $25 donation at the door will go directly to Malden Overcoming Addiction’s Recovery Coach Program. There will be raffles, a 50/50, food and Paul Hammersley’s handsome, smiling face overlooking the proceedings. Who doesn’t love a good Kiss tribute band?! Especially with a set list of 18 songs hand-picked by Paul himself!

Extra special Malden Musings shout out to one of the premier handball players from back in the old ‘Y’ days, Johnny “No Gloves” Zamagna. Johnny looks wicked good these days and although his glory days are far behind him he still looks like he has a little pop in his glove(less) hand. All the best “No Gloves.”

• Count yourself one of the fortunate ones if you attended Ward 5 Councilor Barbara Murphy’s baby the ‘4th Annual Fairy House Festival’ at Pine Banks Park in late November. If you love the outdoors and are curious about hobbits, elves, trolls and the habitats built for fairies and nature’s other friends (and who isn’t!) then you will definitely need to attend next year’s event. Just ask Mayor Gary Christenson, State Representative Paul Brodeur, Ward 1 Councilor Peg Crowe, Councilors Craig Spadafora, John Matheson and Jadeane Sica - who, in the past, have all witnessed this first hand - what a fun one-of-a-kind event this is. See you all next year August 24th 2019 for the ‘5th Annual Fairy House Festival.’

• Another name from that wonderful year of 1972 that was omitted from the ‘Malden 1972’ column was one of the more under rated athletes growing up in Edgeworth, former CEO at the Highland Café - Dave Angelo. On the football field as a Beebe Bulldog he would go toe to toe with bruisers like Stevie Saraceni and Hankie O’Brien in the ‘bull in the ring.’ On the hoop court playing for Mr. Sanford at Beebe and then Mr. Schlegal at the high school he was constantly swatting away weak stuff thrown up by Albert Cioffi, Arthur Boyle and Greg Phaneuf and bouncing off brick walls like Scott Hanley, Jack Freker and Mark Burns. Soccer was a relatively new sport around Malden in the early ‘70’s but Dave picked it up on the fly and had a successful career at the high school for Mr. Wales who saw the raw talent in Dave - stuck him goal - the rest is history.

• Much of Dave’s success on the soccer field can be directly attributed to his close friend (and mine) Lino ‘Pasquale’ Petrangelo - another 1975 M.H.S. grad. Pasquale arrived from Abruzzo Italy and settled in Edgeworth with his family in 1967. On a personal note; and immediately made Edgeworth a better place to live. He had been playing soccer since childhood. He arrived in a Malden that had barely even heard of soccer. When high school came around he was an immediate mentor to many of his peers who had never played the game before. Dave being his special pet project becoming close friends at the Emerson School. Pasquale (along with that push from Mr. Wales) convinced his pal to be the soccer goalie for Malden High. He was resistant at first, but Pasquale brought him to Devir Park, no goalie gloves or net back in ‘72, and kicked soccer ball after soccer ball at him. Dave was hesitant to dive to save the ball at the beginning but diving eventually became second nature to him. His hard work paid off! Dave had an amazing first game (and career) at Malden

High School making “incredible saves” according to Pasquale who calls Dave one of ‘unsung heroes’ of that team.

• It all pales in comparison though to what he did later in life as the number one pizza maker in the city of Malden for many, many years as CEO at the Highland Café. Not only did he make upwards of 500 pies on a busy Friday night (of which I may have had a couple) he also served as bouncer on occasion as well as making sure long-time bartender Jimmy “Stinger” Cahill wasn’t over pouring behind the bar.

• And now a word from City of Malden’s Addiction Recovery Resource Specialist and the face of Malden Overcoming Addiction, Paul Hammersley: “Rock n’ Roll is near & dear to my heart as well as the work we do at M.O.A. I thought how can I bring the two together, what could we do that would be really different and super fun at the same time. It was a no brainer! Let’s join forces with KISS Forever and ‘ROCK ADDICTION.’ The band did not hesitate for a second. They are supportive of the work M.O.A. does and to boot they love Malden! This fundraiser will help with M.O.A.’s recovery coach program and we honestly can’t wait for November 3rd! This will truly be a night to remember.” Thank you, Paul.

• From old friend Mike Deady: “Great column about 1972. I miss the days one could spend the whole morning and afternoon at the square, wandering around Jordan Marsh, Woolworth’s, Grant’s, the record shops, the smoke shops, the head shops, the bowling alleys (there must have been 4 or 5 of them back then), the Granada (I forget if the Strand was still around then), the various pizza and fast food joints. I took some guitar lessons at the music store (can’t remember the name of it, but it was near Art Carl Jewelers). Unfortunately, the lessons didn’t take, and I can’t play for a hill of beans.”

• Happy birthday Mahalia Jackson - “The Queen of Gospel” born 107 years ago on October 26, 1911. Mahalia still brings me to tears when she sings ‘Trouble in the World’ at Annie’s funeral during the 1959 movie ‘Imitation of Life.’ Recognized worldwide not only as the greatest gospel singer of her day AND of all time but as a civil rights activist/leader and humanitarian. “I sing God’s music because it makes me feel free,” Jackson once said, adding, “It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues.”

• Mark your calendars Malden: Malden Overcoming Addiction’s 4th Annual Candlelight Memorial Vigil will be held from 6 to 8:30 on Sunday Oct. 7 in the Malden High Courtyard. Gather with other Maldonians and remember those we have lost to the disease of addiction. There will also be resources from great organizations available to help understand this epidemic a little bit better.

• Malden Musings Malden Trivia Part 1: Did you know that Freddie’s Market was located on Pearl Street towards Medford Street near ‘Fitzy’s Corner’ at Medford and Pearl? Freddy Brandano (Johnny’s dad) owned the market which stocked everything you needed for a “7 course Italian (or Irish) meal.” According to a very good source Edgeworth’s late Pat Chiaccia worked there and “always wore a heavy garment under his white jacket and a soft hat on his head.” On a personal note I knew Pat, Pat was one of the nicest people to ever come out of Edgeworth! I also remember Freddie’s Market, I remember vividly the smell of the different kind of cheeses, the large provolone cheese hanging from the ceiling.

• Malden Musings Malden Trivia Part 2: Did you know that in 1967 our not so progressive city of Malden in conjunction with the Malden Police Department banned the counterculture (or “hippie”) newspaper called ‘The Avatar?’

• Kyle, Ops Manager at LimeBikes, proudly introduced the E-Bike recently to the streets of Malden. Now, after work, you can effortlessly glide through Malden’s congested rush hour traffic on one of these lime green “smart-bikes” and get home before your favorite MSNBC show starts. Look for this ride sharing program to continue through the winter months on a limited basis.

• Malden Musings Malden Trivia Part 3: Who can identify the Malden guy who had a small but significant role in the classic 1959 romantic drama ‘Imitation of Life?’ Email me if you know.

• On Saturday November 24th, I will join other Maldonians at the Linden Park Hockey Rink and cheer on my Edgeworth Aces & Rigano’s Towing in Malden’s 7th Annual Home for The Holidays Street Hockey Tournament! GO Edgeworth!

“What you are about to read is a matter of human record. Explain it: we cannot. Disprove it: we cannot. We simply invite you to explore with us the amazing world of the Unknown...to take that One Step...Beyond.”

Linden Park - a “Hang Around for Everyone” (Part 1) submitted for your perusal by Linden’s own Pat Amoroso:

“No understanding can be complete concerning what is meant by having lived the life of a ‘Linden Project Rat’ without realizing the significant role that Linden Park played in our early adolescent years. A ‘Hang Around’ for just about everyone with ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, monkey bars and accompanying swing sets. All in all serving as a focal point of interaction for even nickel and penny poker players with a shady house.

Perhaps, as one ponders those years of the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, one cannot escape just how much that project playground stood as a testament to our combined innocence, adolescent camaraderie AND the eventual maturation into teen-hood with all its emotions and conflicts.

Whether it was the 4th of July when the ‘PARK’ took on an aura of festivity for a full 16 hours of nonstop gaming with boy and girl dash competition or activities under assorted tents where one could have Revere Beach’s Penny Arcade Boulevard transferred to our own backyard for a full day. Cotton Candy vendor booths, hot-dogs and soda for a dime each and always the candied apples glistening in the sun as one attempted to eat it all without getting any food on their summer outfits purchased by mom at Spark’s in Malden Square the previous week. The July 4th Celebration would culminate in a grease pole climbing contest where young boys would attempt to reach the top of a 20-30-foot pole encumbered by a thick axle grease which would take the rest of the week and numerous baths just to remove the absorbed vapors from your skin, knots in your hair and noxious taste from your mouth. Not to be outdone in any provision for its citizen army of rascals, the July 4th night would end in its own firework displays which were shot off from our mountain stronghold across the street. Entire families with fruit punch thermoses and popcorn bowls would share the ending of the night’s activities while spread out on blankets for all. It was truly another world and never should be forgotten. It was a rich heritage of a unique generation of adolescent boys and girls, WE, the baby boomers of World War 2 parents.

Throughout the summer season, we had access to a giant swing apparatus in which you could pump your legs at repeated intervals and get so high that the frame posts would start to shake, only to be reminded by the park stewards that we should slow it down with their whistle warning alarms. That never seemed to dampen young boys showing off to their young girl childhood crushes though. Monkey bars entranced us to better our climbing techniques where one could wrap your legs around a horizontal post and swing upside down. The girls were great at this acrobatic procedure, probably for the same reason that the boys did their antics on the swings.

We had our own shower pool which would spurt water from extended pipes above the rounded and cement basin. With a little ingenious and improvising effort, we soon learned that we could make our draining basin a real swimming pool by taking our towels and plugging the drains. The park proctors would again sound their whistles at which time we were forced to unplug the drains only to start the same improvisation again when they moved to another part of the park.

Summertime bliss only? Hell no! Back when we had winters of many weeks with freezing temperatures nearing zero frequently, they would flood the park with the water hydrants located near the tennis courts. This would go on all night and sometimes last until the early morning hours when the entire park was flooded only to let nature take its course and turn it into a skating rink the size of a football field or greater. Many a night we would spend skating in freezing temperatures on ice that was so clear and mirror-like, WELL, who needs a real rink when you have Linden Park under flood lights and free of charge for the ‘Real Linden Project Rats?’

To sum it all up, when asked by our parents and/or friends, “Where will you be today?” And we answered, “I’ll be over at the park” - that simple reply reinforced two notions, (number 1) WE were having fun and (number 2) WE were in good company and not to worry.

Amazing Memories! Never to be forgotten, ever!!” Thank you, Pat.

Post Script: Mother Nature (aka Ward 5 Councilor Barbara ‘the hardest working gal in show biz’ Murphy) wanted to thank everyone who came to the Fairy House Festival at Pine Banks Park. Great quote from Barbara - “It was a day to get unplugged, be creative, spend time with family and friends and enjoy all the wonderful things Nature had to offer us.” She also wanted to thank Tom Avery, Kay Allen, Naomi Kahn, Dora St. Martin, Sarah Dawe, Julie Mangan, Casey Leon, Julie Orsino, Tara Murphy Beardsley. Anne Ciaberri, Cathy Bartlett and her friend Cheryl, Lauren Gagnon, Millie Collins and her sister for their hard work and your support. Also Barbara wanted to give a big thank you to her supporters the Adelaide Breed Bayrd Foundation and Pine Banks Park for making this thing of hers such a success. “Thank you all for helping to spread a bit of fairy dust in our world.” Thank YOU, Barbara. See you next year!

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character “Columbo” would say “Just one more thing sir” - Malden Musings looks back fondly: In the olden days the ‘C-Notes’ were Malden’s gift to the world of ‘Lounge Music.’ The ‘C-notes’ took you away to another place and time with their brand of exotica, jazz, rock n’ roll, mambo, disco, swing, big band and easy-listening sounds. Guys dressed ‘swanky.’ They sipped ‘cocktails.’ And the women wore black cocktail dresses that were curve hugging and fabulous! In 1980 it was estimated that the band - Phil Roderick, Phil Longo, Ron Accettollo, and Dick Robbie - played more than 17,500 sets of music and over 105,000 songs in their 15 years together at the time. They ruled North Shore Cocktail Nation! Quoted about their longevity in Ken Elliot’s ‘Nightside’ column from the Boston Globe in November of 1980 guitarist Phil Longo said that the key to their success was “that they weren’t into just one bag but play the entire musical spectrum. Latin, disco, some Four Freshman type harmonies, in short, we keep the customer satisfied.” Sadly Felix J. ‘Phil’ Longo passed away on April 16, 2018. He was 86 years young. He had been a lifelong resident of Malden and a United States Army Veteran during the Korean Conflict. A member in good standing at the Italian American Citizen’s Club as well as the Irish American he was also an avid golfer who “loved taking trips to Florida with his friends.” Of which, he had many. You are missed Phil. You are loved, and your presence still felt.

Peter Levine is a longtime Malden resident and contributor to the Malden Observer. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments, complaints or criticisms.